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a p p e N D I X
B:
The Fu
Ture o
F Facebook
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apps, and connect implementations allows a brand to flow a program’s momentum
through Facebook (usually the Wall) in order to dramatically amplify the brand’s expo-
sure and engagement.
In 2010, with open Graph and the likely extensions such as Facebook connect
as the enablers, marketers will be able to use Facebook tools to create that same ampli-
fication and engagement on their own turf (for example, their primary website or a
microsite), rather than needing to always flow the momentum through Facebook.
This will effectively turn Facebook “inside out” and will dramatically expand
the range of Facebook-powered, social consumer experiences—since those will no
longer be constrained by the specific properties and attention landscapes of today’s
Facebook. The sky, rather than the “Wall,” will truly be the limit.
The New Social Marketing Opportunity: Facebook-Powered Social Experiences
For marketers, this will open up a wide array of possible branded social experiences
that leverage the reach and momentum of Facebook but that can be developed on their
turf. This is significant because, although Facebook has offered tremendous reach, it
has afforded somewhat limited brand influence and control. This has kept Facebook
marketing, and most social media brand initiatives, focused “high in the funnel”
(awareness and interest).
These new Facebook-powered properties—call them “social microsites,” “momen-
tum hubs,” or “branded communities”—will play a new role lower in the marketing
funnel, centered around high-value activities such as interest, education, evangelism, and
conversion. For these to be effective, they will need to marry the reach and momentum
coming from Facebook (and YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on) with the content,
commerce, and community that the brand provides. companies that do this well will
unlock a whole new area of measurable roI from social media marketing.
The First Step: Creating Integrated Momentum Chains
as marketers start leveraging these new capabilities, the first and most visible examples
will be companies that create momentum chains like these:
advertising ←→ Facebook ←→ c ommunities ←→ .com Sites
in which content and engagement can flow from one property to another, putting each
to work in what it does best:
Advertising: Reach
Facebook: Engagement
Communities: Content + context
.com Sites: Conversion and support
creating properties and programs that leverage this new, expanded momentum
landscape will be an exciting area of innovation in 2010.
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